Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako are in Belgium for a two-day state visit. The visit is taking place to mark 160 years of diplomatic relations between Japan and Belgium. The Japanese Imperial Couple arrived in Belgium on Saturday, where they were welcomed by Princess Elisabeth at Melsbroek Military Airport.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako spent the weekend together with King Philippe, Queen Mathilde, and their four children — Crown Princess Elisabeth, Prince Gabriel, Prince Emmanuel, and Princess Eleonore — at the Royal Castle of Ciergnon in the Province of Namur.
On June 22, 2026, the Emperor and Empress will travel to the Castle of Laeken, where they will stay for the remainder of their visit. The official program of the state visit begins on June 23 in Brussels. Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will first be welcomed by King Philippe and Queen Mathilde at the Royal Palace in Brussels.
I'll say it first - don't you think the Belgian royal family should have adjusted their footwear or posture to accommodate the much shorter visitors? Or be fitted with adjustable legs so that those who feel that the Emperor is bound to be offended for being the shortest person there can feel better about their notions of proper protocol? And when is the empress going to grab a clue and quit being taller than the Emperor? They've been married for 33 years so I'm very surprised that the issue hasn't been address yet. Aren't their more important things in our world to be mindful of?
ReplyDelete1:46 No.
Delete@1:47 No. We don’t have to make excuses for who we are, and definitely do not need to adjust our physical shape for others! On the other hand being gracious hosts and respectful is important, and that is evident here.
DeleteOh sorry … this was humour. I responded no, which is still my view, but didnt see this as humour on first read! I don’t think heavy sarcasm works really well cross culturally and for those of us who are not mother tongue English!
Delete@Allison lol! Love your sense of humour :))
Delete- Anon 9:13
You almost had me OP, well played! 😅😅😅😅
DeleteVery good! 😊
DeleteWell, to be completely honest - Queen Mathilde's shoes are not as sky-high as Queen Maxima's had been. And Princess Eleonore is wearing flat sandals. So - they sort of did adjust. *wink*
Delete@Allison 01:47 - Good one! Temporary reconstructive surgery lol. ~~Ruthie
Delete@Allison,
Deleteyour comment Is absolutely the best I've read in a long time on this blog.
Subtle humour implies a remarkable form of intelligence and reasoning imo and I much appreciate it!
Excellent.
👍👏
I suggest the emeror should wear shoes with high heels to make his hosts feeling comfortable for being taller. Women can wear high and low heels, why can't we ask a man to do the same? :-)
DeleteMasako porte particulièrement bien cette veste bien coupée. Il me semble que la fille du couple impérial aurait eu sa place lors de ce voyage où on a pu voir les enfants du couple royal des Pays Bas et ceux de Belgique. Josée.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful setting! The Empress looks very fresh in the ivory/white and blue jacket. Just a bit more casual than a dress to match the men in jackets without ties. Kelly green is sharp on the Queen and matches well with the outdoors. The four children are all good looking and looking very polished.
ReplyDeleteThe Queen looks lovely I love the color, palate green and white, combined with the green bag, very attractive.. Up close the dress appears on the shapeless side, the inner belt I think has something to do with this effect.
ReplyDeleteThe Empress looks exceptionally good. Love the jacket, it looks smart and stylish. The white shirt and pants, clear straight lines work in well with the jacket, which is a very good length. Love her necklace, perfect finishing touch.
Lovely photos of the Imperial couple with the Belgian royal family over the weekend. Love that the children were present too. You can see and feel the convivial warmth between these two families. The four gents are dressed 'summer-smartly' as indeed are the women. I particularly like the design and fabric of Princess Eleonore's printed dress which is cooling for Europe's current hot spell this week.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to more of their activities over the next 2 or 3 days.
- Anon 9:13
Mathilde weet hoe het hoort, in tegenstelling tot Maxima, niet de aandacht trekken, en lage hakken...
ReplyDeleteKoningin Mathilde draagt geen lage hakken. Haar hakken verdwijnen gewoon in the gravel die buiten het kasteel ligt als grondverharding. Ook Elisabeth's hakken, alhoewel ik denk dat zij hier lage hakjes draagt, verdwijnen ook in the gravel.
DeleteHer heels are high. As is she. As is her husband without heels. There’s no requirement to shrink yourself. With or without heels both Dutch and Belgian royals are taller. It’s a ridiculous point to make that anyone should shrink for another!
DeleteAbout the high heels : I never read here anything positive about them. Why are they then popular among most royal ladies. Honestly I think it is a question of age and fashion, and not of elegance or appropriateness. I remember I also wanted to have them, during a rather short period of time, and give up.
DeleteI never read anything positive about high heels on this blog. Probably a question of age and fashion makes them popular among most royal ladies. It has nothing to do with elegance or appropriateness.
DeleteSmall things can make a difference: look at the rounded lapel on the Empress' summery blazer, how it makes this basically masculine piece of clothing much softer, together with the turned-up cuffs. Elizabeth' dress is very nice, as opposed to Mathilde's - the flower placement striking and good, but the cut of the dress is not nice on her. Well I don't like shirtwaist, but the problem here is not so much the style itself but the clumsy string belt for somebody whose waist does not really need to be string-belted, to say the least, and the wide skirt, both features not optimal for Mathilde. The boho dress: this style is sure comfortable, but it favours basically nobody - such a dress makes a show of itself, instead of the wearer - just hanging everywhere.
ReplyDeleteThe skirt of Q. Mathilde's dress is not wide but the dress is a straight casual summer dress with an incorporated belt which can be worn tighter or more loose. Princess Eléonore became just 18 years old this summer. If she likes a boho dress to wear when it is hot why not. She is thin and has plenty of time to see what style is the best for her.
DeleteI particularly like Eleonore’s outfit. It suits her even better than the model. I’m confused by the design of Mathilde’s dress … why make a beautiful expensive garment then add a string waist.
Delete@10:54: Please read what I wrote instead of interpreting things into my post and defend Eleonore against something I did not write. I did not write or imply that Eleonore should not like or wear boho dresses. I just wrote my opinion about boho dresses in general. May I? Thank you! :-)
Delete@10:54, it needs a good deal of stretching the concept of "straight" to call this dress "straight", but never mind. Mathilde and/or the dress does not need to be defended either ... you like this (for you) straight dress, I don't like this (for me) wide-skirted dress. Thank you.
DeleteI agree 10:54. We need to leave the young people to work out their own style without any criticism.
DeleteThe family photo is just wonderful. They look so comfortable together. The Empress´ jacket is very nice in colour and cut. She always looks great in pants. I am not too fond of Q Mathilde´s dress. It feels too voluminous. I think it is the draw string tie that makes look bulky. A proper belt would have been better imo.
ReplyDeleteThis is how the Japanese report about the visit - very correct, without any assumptions about mutual emotions that nobody knows (and should know) about. Polite as Japanese are: https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/78356?pn=1
ReplyDeleteThey gave more information than the Belgian media.
DeleteI do not see how comments on a fashion blog that the Imperial couple and the Royal family appear to have a good/warm/friendly relationship would be impolite. Perhaps this is a cultural difference in the perception of what is polite or impolite.
Delete-Royal Watcher
The official account of the Belgian Royal family is reporting about "the close friendship".
Delete
ReplyDelete皆様の服装はとても快適そうに見えます。
フィリップ国王陛下のように、天皇陛下にもポケットチーフを使ってほしかった。
おしゃれな着こなしって、ほんのちょっとしたことだと思うのです。
Belles photos sur fond verdoyant - Le couple impérial a adopté un style élégant décontracté ; je suis ravie des chaussures blanches de Masako !
ReplyDelete@anon 08:13
ReplyDeleteThere are no assumptions about the close personal ties between the Japanese imperial family and the Belgian royal family. This dates from way back and by now transcends multiple generations. You can do your resaerch online, it's not hard to find information about this.
https://japan.diplomatie.belgium.be/en/relationship-belgium-japan/diplomatic-relations
https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2026/06/19/de-hechte-band-tussen-de-belgische-koninklijke-familie-en-het-ja/
It looks like there are people on this blog who are jealous of the close personal ties between the Japanese imperial family and the Belgian royal family.Thx for showing us the information and history between the 2 families @ 09:37
DeleteI saw pictures of King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola taken in Laeken together with Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko. In those days nobody gave comments on the fact that King Baudouin was much taller than the emperor and even Queen Fabiola who was still a young queen and not short herself wore shoes with heels. But in those days there were no blogspots where one could write down everything that crossed our minds.
No 13:07 it is not jealousy regarding close ties. That is not really something we see on this blog. People can criticise, hypothesise, compliment, think out loud across all different ideas, but it’s not jealousy nor hate if they don’t agree.
DeleteQueen Mathilde is wearing a light summerdress which was new in 2025. Until now she wore it in the garden in Laeken and in the Warande Parc in Brussels during the national day. Her green earrings are by Sézane and her green bag is by the Belgian designer Enamoure. It is a medium handbag called "Kai". CP Elisabeth is wearing a dress by the French ready-to-wear collection of designer Destrée. She is wearing earrings belonging to her mother from the brand Carolina Herrera and a clutch by "A bag with a story" also belonging to queen Mathilde. Princess Eléonore is wearing a dress in her favourite boho style by ba&sh. Empress Masako is also dressed in a light summery outfit. The men left there tie inside. With t° of 30° Celsius and more they were probably happy to stay casual in the shadows of the gardens around the castle.
ReplyDeletePersonally I regret Prss Elisabeth is wearing two similar white dresses over the 2 days.
DeleteMary how can you regret what a young girl chooses to wear in the heat?! Is that a joke? I think it must be. You can regret what you wear if need be but cannot regret another’s humble choices which in no way impact you … nor anyone… they are just dresses!
Deletehttps://www.fnn.jp/articles/-/1063578
ReplyDeleteこれは日本のテレビ局の本日のレポートです。
ファンにとってはとても懐かしい写真も見ることが出来ますよ。
@ 09:37
ReplyDeleteI am going to tell the story of the Castle of Ciergnon where the Japanese Imperial family stayed during the weekend.
The castle can be found on a hill near a place called Hoyet (Prov. of Namur) in the Belgian Ardennes.
King Leopold the I bought the ground in 1840 to build a castle in 1842 for his wife Queen Louise-Marie (French Princess of Orléans). Unfortunately Queen Louise-Marie who had a weak health preferred the air at the Belgian coast (North Sea) especially in Ostend. Later on the castle became a hide away of the Belgian royal family where they spent regularly the week-end. There King Baudouin presented to the Belgians his fiancée Dona Fabiola de Mora y Aragon who became Queen Fabiola of the Belgians. Queen Paola with the help of a gardener rearranged the garden around the castle. She loved to do gardening also around the castle of Belvédère the home of King Albert II and her in the Parc of Laeken. The majority of the royal children have been baptized in the Chapel of the Castle of Ciergnon. The castle is still a hide away for the royal family and cannot be visited by the public.
Thank you!
DeleteThe King's jacket is 'sloppy' looking, has he lost weight, or is this a new jacket that has not yet been tailored for him.
ReplyDeleteThe Queen's dress is terrible. Giant splotches of green, a shirt dress that just not fit her form. Their smiles are warm, nice to see the two couples, plus the 4 young adult children.
I think the jacket may simply be a looser jacket which feels better in the heat. It’s just a little photo opportunity before the couple spend time together, nothing formal required. I think calling Mathilde’s dress terrible is a bit harsh! You can not like it, of course, and I don’t love it, but it holds no terror.
DeleteYou can’t help but acknowledge the hospitality of both the Dutch and Belgian RF’s. Their consideration in allowing the Imperial Couple a few days relaxation before each tour,has been warming to see.
ReplyDeleteThe Empress as always looks elegant in her light weight jacket and trouser.
QM looks as lovely in her Summer dress.
The children smartly dressed. I had hoped to see CP Elisabeth at the State Dinner, but I don’t believe we’ve had confirmation of her attendance.
Lowri.
We can expect to see them all! Meaning all four children, plus Princess Astrid and Archduke Lorenz, and Prince Laurent and Princess Claire. A first, for sure.
DeleteNice gathering of the Royal family and Imperial guests. Lovely outfits. Will them all hopefully see in Tiaras, at the State dinner, really looking forward to it.
ReplyDeletecss
marvellous comment by Allison, great fun ! Adjustable legs made my day ;)
ReplyDeleteA lovely happy group, all looking great.
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